DAB Pregame: Devils Look to Start 3-0 vs. San Jose

The Sharks have been dubbed by many as a Stanley Cup favorite. –Getty Images

Match Overview

Tonight’s game will feature your New Jersey Devils, who currently own a 2-0-0 record of the Metropolitan Division, and the San Jose Sharks, who own a 2-2-1 record which puts them fourth in the Pacific Division.

The New Jersey Devils are coming off a thrashing of the defending Stanley Cup champions and are riding high. Through their first two games of the season, the Devils are tops in the league in goals (11) and goals against (2). For this reason, it is projected the Devils will go with the lineup they have succeeded with in the first two games. Keith Kinkaid is projected to make his 3rd start of the season following his 5th career shutout. The healthy scratches are projected to be Drew Stafford, Steven Santini, and Eric Gryba.

The San Jose Sharks, like the Devils haven’t played since Thursday. Early into the season, the Sharks find themselves in the middle of the league in terms of goals against and goals for. However, with the likes of Evander Kane, Joe Pavelski, and Brett Burns the Sharks own the firepower to be lethal on any given night. Goaltender Martin Jones has been confirmed the starter against the Devils. Jones has only saved 55 of the 64 shots fired his way this season. Worth noting is that head coach Pete DeBoer says star defenseman Erik Karlsson is expected to be a game-time decision as he was ill on Saturday.

Today’s game will be at Prudential Center and is scheduled to start at 1:00 PM.

Projected Devils Lines

Hall-Hischier-Palmieri

Johansson-Zacha-Noesen

Wood-Zajac-Quenneville

Boyle-Coleman-Dea

Mueller-Vatanen

Greene-Severson

Butcher-Lovejoy

Kinkaid

Projected Sharks Lines

Kane-Pavelski-LaBanc

Hertl-Couture-Meier

Sorensen-Suomela-Donskoi

Goodrow-Chartier-Karlsson

Vlasic-Karlsson*

Ryan-Burns

Dillon-Braun

Jones

*- Game-time decision

Kyle Palmieri has tallied 4 goals in his first two games this year. –Getty Images

What/Who to Watch

The San Jose Sharks’ 1st line has been lethal. The trio of Kane-Pavelski-LaBlanc has combined 11 points in their first 5 games. With this line being one of the hottest in the NHL expect for coach John Hynes to get Sami Vatanen on the ice whenever he can against these three.

Surprisingly, the Devils have been one of the best in the league on the dot so far. They win the draw 55.3% of the time which is good for 3rd best in the league. On the other hand, the Sharks rank 16th and are winning draws at a 50.2% rate. Faceoffs are a huge part of any contest, it’ll be interesting to see if the Devils continue this early season trend.

Forward Kyle Palmieri is off to a marvelous start. With four goals in only two games he has easily been the Devils best forward. Look for the Sharks to matchup their top defensive pairing against the Devils top line as they’ll try to quiet Palmieri’s rapid pace.

When the Sharks landed the best defenseman in the league in Erik Karlsson everyone was shocked. However, luckily for the Devils, they may not need to face him as mentioned above he is a game-time decision. With 3-points in his first 5-games as a Shark, it’ll be huge if he is unable to suit up for San Jose.

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